1/48 Hasegawa RF-4C 

155th Tac Recon Group 

by Tyler White

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I can say that this airplane was the one that got me into this crazy hobby.  When I was 6 or 7, my dad took me to an airshow where the mug of an ugly A-10 greeted me at the gates.  I was hooked!  All of the jets went home, except a few, and those that remained were the RF-4Cs of the 155 TRG.  For years I would sit in my back yard and watch them fly over my house.  When I was 12 they were decommissioned.  I built an RF-4C and made my own markings.  They were crude and the word "Nebraska" was painted free hand.  I wanted the decals for my favorite jets, but no one made them.  Later I would find some decals for the camo versions, and thanks to a fellow ARCer I have those decals for a future project.  But my memories were of the Phantoms in the "Hill Grey" scheme.  So many years later and with the advent of laser printers and some good decal paper I got to try my hand at making my own decals.  This Jet 066, or "Photogenic" as it was called features Jessica Rabbit.  Her pose is just a little different than that of the real thing, but since she is covered with a white anti-weathering material in the Arizona desert, I figured I could take a liberty or two.  At this point however, I must beg forgiveness from the modeling community.  I dropped the wrong flaps!  So next time I will drop the right ones, and yes there will be a next time.  There is something phunny about the phantoms.  I love building them!  I detailed the life out of this kit, which is actually the Hasegawa RF-4B. Here is a brief list of the aftermarket items

  • - Quickboost Ejection Seats

  • - Cleveland FOD Covers

  • - Eduard Photo Etch, including "Remove Before Flight" tags

  • - True Details Tires

  • - Bare Foil Decal Paper

  • - Various decals from other sets including walk ways and slime lights

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I tried to include the patches I had from the group. I had a friend whose dad was a part of the group.  To my surprise he gave me the patches right off of his uniform!  They were beginning the transition over to the KC-135R and he was just going to throw them away!  I am so lucky to have gotten them.

I decided to open the camera bay, at least the first door.  The cameras in the Kit are reasonably detailed and with the Eduard update they are really well detailed, so I went for it! Other than that the Kit is a breeze to build. I found myself using some superglue to fill some gaps on the underside, and there is the requisite sanding, but overall I see no major flaws with the kit. Again the kit I used was the "B," but all the parts are there for the "C." Hasegawa just updates the instructions, telling you what to fill (the slime lights) and what to add. The color Eduard panels are a work of art! I highly recommend them for anyone who is interested in giving you Kit a little kick.

Here are just a few other Phantom Photos. Included was my early attempt, in fact the only model I still have from my younger days.  Also is the 1/72 camo 155th kit. Both of these are 1/72. The other Phantom is a Hasegawa 1/48 packaged as the Revell elite series.  And finally is my little modeling companion camped out in her favorite spot. She likes to nudge me with her wet nose just as I am attempting some tedious task, but I love her anyway!

Thanks for looking - I hope you are inspired to do that plane that got you into this, even if you have to make your own decals!

Tyler 

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Photos and text © by Tyler White